SHERMAN -- The differences among the three candidates for first selectman in town are such that all three acknowledge the town would be well-served, no matter who wins in November's municipal election.

But at a meeting with the News-Times Editorial Board on Thursday, the three laid out the differences that they say would make them the better choice for voters.

For incumbent First Selectman Clay Cope, it's the work he's done to reach out to residents and to the leaders of the neighboring towns.

"My door is always open," Cope, a 51-year-old Republican, said. "I'm available to people day and night."

For his Democratic challenger, Chris Jellen, it's the preparation he's put into the job while serving as a selectman. That included attending Board of Education meetings, learning about school maintenance issues that will come up in the future.

Jellen also said that he'll revive advisory boards and commissions in other areas of town governance, and stay connected to their work.

"It's involvement,'' Jellen, 49, said. "It's the job of the first selectman."

Petitioning candidate David Hopkins said that because of the independent nature of his run for the town's top job, he'll be able to carry out those duties in a non-partisan fashion.

"It gets in the way of good governance," Hopkins, 73, said of the duel between the Democrats and the GOP.

The three differed the most on the issue of town finances, with Hopkins saying the town has allowed its rainy day fund and general capital fund to fall below acceptable levels.

While the town's recently received the good news that the municipal budget has $317,000 in unexpected revenues, Hopkins said that's not the best way to run a town.

"We can't keep going from windfall to windfall," he said.

"You call it a windfall. I call it very careful saving," Cope said.

Jellen said that because the town's tax base is based almost exclusively on property taxes, it's more immune than other places to the vagaries of the national and world economy.

But he said the town has to rebuild its rainy day fund, a process that will not be done overnight.

"It's not a one-year solution," Jellen said. "It will need cooperation and dialogue with the heads of all town departments."

Jellen also said the town needs a long-range plan for capital spending

"It's not just filling out boxes on a spreadsheet," he said.

On the controversy over the need for better cellphone service in town, the three agreed that the town needs better service and that will mean at least one tower somewhere in town.

"People used to say `I moved to Sherman because I didn't want to have my cellphone on,' " Hopkins said. "That's changed. It's something we have to have."